Pillars of Eternity draws me into moral quandries

Over the past week, I’ve set a daily goal to boot up Pillars of Eternity and play through one mission, zone, or 30 minutes — whatever comes first. For as long as I’ve played and reloaded this game, I’ve never beaten it. But I’m closer right now than I ever have been before, and I’m serious about finishing it before the new year. I think my gaming diet needs some single-player RPG in it, and this one scratches a great itch. It’s so comfortable to slip back into, especially coming from the old Baldur’s Gate days, and I appreciate the addition of the party AI that helps out in combat. This mostly frees me up to concentrate on the story and exploration of new areas, and I think I’m starting to make headway on all of the quests that opened up in Defiance Bay. Without making much of a stink about it, Pillars of Eternity threw in an awful lot in the way of choices. Quests can be resolved — and even failed — based on actions and dialogue, and I find that these choices draw me much deeper into the story. One side mission in particular that stuck out at me involved the disappearances of three locals. The first part of the quest was all footpad detective work, tracking down friends and extracting details. All of them pointed to a local theater troupe, and when I made the right inquiries (backed by a full investigation), I was led to… [Read full story]